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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



A BOOK OF QUATRAINS 



A BOOK OF QUATRAINS 

ORIGINAL AND TRANSLATED 
BY 

FREDERIC ROWLAND MARVIN 



' How strange a thing is life, with its many moods, reflected 
•well in the short poems and terse sayings of wise poets I In 
the Epigrams of Martial, and in the Quatrains of later 
itfriters, the world is described with brutal frankness. The 
poets disclosed what they saw, and what they saw all m.en 
m^ay behold in their verses with equal clearness if they will.'''' 

— Arch^ologia. 




BOSTON 

SHERMAN, FRENCH ©" COMPANY 

1909 



Copyright 1909 
Sherman, French &» Company 






Cla.*. 248014 
SFP 24 wot 



^ 



TO 

THE MEMBERS OF 

THE AUTHORS CLUB 

OF NEW YORK 

IN REMEMBRANCE OF 

AMBROSIAL NIGHTS 

THESE QUATRAINS ARE DEDICATED 



'np^HE author of this little book has 
■*- here brought together a few original 
and some translated quatrains that have 
been elsewhere published. To these he 
has added about a hundred original quat- 
rains that here for the first time make their 
appearance in print. They were written 
in odd moments, and reflect the varying 
moods of one who, from the quiet and se- 
clusion of his library, has observed with 
curious eye the ever-changing panorama 
of human life. No system of philosophy 
is represented and no theory of human life 
is taught, but the author believes that they 
may furnish some food for contemplation 
to those who, like himself, view from with- 
out rather than from within, the toil and 
conflict of man's mind in the rush and tur- 
moil of our modern world. 



CONTENTS 

ORIGINAL 

PAGE 

HEINE 17 

SHELLEY 17 

ALFEIRl's TOMB 1 8 

JUNIUS 18 

HELEN 19 

BOOKS 19 

AN HONORARY DEGREE 20 

THE HALL OF FAME 20 

WHICH? 21 

SATAN 21 

EXPERIENCE 22 

DANGEROUS WEAKNESS 22 

A LOUD CALL 23 

CURED 23 

LOVE 24 

THE AMERICAN CHAUFFEUR .... 24 

WAR 25 

" HASTE MAKES WASTE " 25 

SIXTY 26 

THE DIVINE DOUBT 26 

AGNOSTICS 27 

MEETING OF THE FREE-RELIGIOUS ASSOCIA- 
TION 27 

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE 28 

HOW TO ESCAPE DOUBT 28 

VALUE 29 

TOO LATE 29 



PAGE 

CASTLES IN SPAIN 30 

RECRUITS 30 

EQUITY 31 

LIFE AND DEATH 3 1 

MEN FEAR THE TRUTH 32 

RIGHT BETTER THAN PEACE 32 

THE UNKNOWABLE . . . . o . . 33 

HERESY 33 

EARLY TRAINING 34 

CHANCE 34 

MATERIALISM 35 

TRANSCENDENTALISM 35 

ASPIRATION 36 

EVENING OF THE LORd's DAY .... 36 

ASSURANCE 37 

BEYOND THE HARBOR-BAR 37 

THE UNIVERSAL MOTHER 38 

TRUTH 38 

HERE AND NOW 39 

PASSION 39 

THE USELESSNESS OF WRANGLING . . . 4O 

A SELFISH HEART 4O 

FRIENDSHIP 41 

CHOICE 41 

LIFE 42 

YOUTH AND AGE 42 

CHURCH AND STATE 43 

THE INNER WORSHIP 43 

WHY? 44 

"how do CHERRIES TASTE?" .... 44 



PAGE 

CRICKET ON THE HEARTH 45 

YOUTH ATTRACTIVE 45 

A NEW ENGLAND HOUSEWIFE .... 46 

POPULAR ROMANCE 46 

THE BEST CREED 47 

COMPOUNDING FOR SINS WE ARE INCLINED TO 47 

DRIFT-WOOD 48 

PREACHING VERSUS PRACTICE .... 48 

THE HOUR 49 

FINESSE 49 

HATEFUL LOVE 50 

PEACE AT LAST 50 

DR. GIRTH 51 

TO A PLAGIARIST 51 

MODERN EDEN 52 

THE fool's SUCCESS 52 

PROCRASTINATION 53 

" YOU CANNOT MAKE A SILVER CUP FROM 

A PEWTER POT " 53 

WINE 54 

OPIUM 54 

TOBACCO 55 

THE WRONG NAME 55 

EPITAPHS, I. II. III. IV 56, 57 

MODERN GREEKS 58 

AT LAST 58 

THE CANDLE OF THE LORD 59 

TOO MANY CHURCHES 59 

NATURAL FAITH 60 

THE HOLY LAND 60 



PAGE 

SELF-CONCEIT 6 1 

THE WALKING DELEGATE 6 1 

POLITICIANS 62 

THE NIHILIST 62 

LEZE-MAJESTY 63 

THE LAND OF LABOR STRIKES .... 63 

PROTECTION 64 

BONDAGE 64 

LIKE CURES LIKE 65 

THE TRUE BROTHER 65 

VAIN SEARCH 66 

TRUTH OR REPOSE 66 

ONCE 67 

THE NEW AGE 67 

THE LARGER KNOWLEDGE 68 

PROFANITY 68 

*' MY LIFE IS WIND " 69 

EVERYWHERE IS PEACE . . . . . .69 

TRANSLATIONS 

woman's sword. From the French . . 73 

THE cost of prosecution. From the French 73 

ADIEU. From the French 74 

THE UNEQUAL MARRIAGE, Goethe . . 74 

THE soldier's SOLACE. Goethe ... 75 

EACH LIKES BEST THE PLACE WHEREIN HE 

LIVES. Goethe 75 

TO A METAPHYSICIAN. Gocthe ... 76 

APPARENT DEATH. Goethe .... 76 

ON DR. MEAD. Lessing 77 



PAGE 

THE EVENING HOUR. From the German . 77 

SPIRITUAL EPIGRAMS I. II. III. IV. Angelus- 

Silesius 78, 79 

ON MICHAEL ANGELO's STATUE OF NIGHT. 

Lines by Giovanni Strozzi . . . . 80 

ANSWER BY MICHAEL ANGELO. From the 

Italian 80 

ON Holbein's half-length portrait of 

ERASMUS. Latin of Theodore Beza . . 81 

transubstantiation. Latin of the Fif- 
teenth Century 81 

Balaam's ass. Latin of the Fifteenth Cen- 
tury ..... 82 

ON a fly ENGRAVED IN A GOLDEN DRINK- 

ING-CUP. Cunradinus 82 

EPIGRAMS FROM MARTIAL. 

I. TO AVITUS 83 

n. AN INSECT IN AMBER 83 

III. ON FABULLUS .84 

IV. TO AFRICANUS 84 

V. IMPROMPTU VERSES 85 

VI. ON QUINTUS 85 

Vn. THE COOK 86 

SOCRATES. Latin Anthology .... 86 

GREEK EPIGRAM . . . . .... 87 

ARISTOPHANES. Greek Anthology ... 87 

THE DEADLY PRESENCE. Hedylus ... 88 

THE GIFT OF THE MUSES. From the Greek 88 

MORTALITY. Menander 89 

EQUALITY IN THE GRAVE. Anyte of Tegea 89 



PAGE 

CURES FOR LOVE. Crates of Thebes . . 90 

ON THOSE WHO FELL AT THERMOPYL^. 

Greek Epitaph 90 

SECRECY. From the Hebrew . . . .91 

GAIN STRENGTH BY HELPING OTHERS. Saadi 9 1 

INTOXICATION. Saadi 92 

THE saint's reply. Saadi 92 

THE UNITY OF FAITH. Vemana ... 93 
envy PURSUES THE FRUITFUL. From the 

Persian 93 

THE PRESENT HEAVEN. Hafiz .... 94 

WHAT NEED OF A SACRED HOUSE ? Hafiz . 94 

THE. DIVINE DEMAND. From the Persian . 95 

MUCH IN LITTLE. From the Persian . . 95 
THE APPOINTED HOUR. From the Mahab- 

harata 96 

THE WORDS OF THE WISE ARE FEW. Saskya 

Pandita 96 

HOW TO BECOME A SAINT. From the San- 
scrit 97 

THE brahmin's DELIGHT. From the San" 

scrit 97 

THE RIGHT ROAD. Mahomet in the Gul- 

shan-i-Raz 98 

stolen GLANCES. Beha-ed-din Zohein . 98 

PILGRIMAGE. From the Arabic .... 99 

FERTILE of RESOURCES. From the Arabic . 99 

TRUE GENEROSITY. From the Arabic . . lOO 

THE UNHALLOWED DEAD. From the Arabic lOO 

THE TRUE COUNSELLOR. From the Arabic loi 



ORIGINAL 



HEINE 

Derision curled his lip, 
And in his smile was scorn ; 

Yet bloomed the golden rose 
Beside the iron thorn. 



SHELLEY 

The sorrows of the world to music sweet 

Our English Ariel set, 
And in his perfect verse the tenderest love 

With deathless daring met. 



17 



ALFIERI'S TOMB 

Canova's marble I — Alfieri's dust ! 

Genius divine and heavenly art ! 
Vain were they both had Passion kindled 
not 

The flame of love In woman's heart. 



JUNIUS 

Unknown to all, yet knowing all too well, 
Thyself a nom de plume, how trenchant 
was thy blade ! 
The years are flown, thy mighty foes are 
dead. 
And still refuse the laurels on thy brow 
to fade. 



i8 



HELEN 

For Helen burned the towers of Troy, 
Those lordly walls are flaming still ; 

Uncheck'd the fires of passion rage, 
And modern Helens have their will. 



BOOKS 

Our friends, as years advance, depart. 

But noble books remain ; 
In them the blessed dead return. 

To dwell with us again. 



19 



AN HONORARY DEGREE 

The college gave him LL.D., 
It made him happy as could be; 
And happy college ! for its share 
The fool endowed a Latin chair. 



THE HALL OF FAME 

By numbering noses wc have made men 
great, 
Glory bestowed where glory there was 
none; 
Consider this, aspiring sons of men. 

By votes conferred, fame is no longer 
won. 



20 



WHICH? 

The snow-white poppy or the green-leaved 
weed! the better, which? 
De Quincey loved the flower; while in his 
London home, Carlyle 
Consumed the fragrant weed. One calmly 
dreamed, the other growled : 
On both impartial Fame, the lovely girl, 
bestowed her smile. 



SATAN 

Of Satan all our priests have made too 
much, 
As though with God he played at chess ; 
And, matching love with hatred, cried out 
''check! — 
My curse on every soul you bless ! " 



21 



EXPERIENCE 

He only charts the heavens for me, 
Who sails himself that upper sea ; 
His teaching must from knowledge flow, 
If he would have me with him go. 



DANGEROUS WEAKNESS 

What most I fear is not yon giant clad in 
steel, 
But that sweet-tempered fool I cannot 
trust ; 
He trips my soul with silly counsel and ad- 
vice, 
While I can deal the giant thrust for 
thrust. 



22 



A LOUD CALL 

How loud to Tipping church the urgent 
call — 

Ten thousand and a costly city house I 
From other churches soundless every call 

As the soft footsteps of a nimble mouse. 



CURED 

The skillful surgeon feared he could not 
live, 
And so he wisely slew him with a knife; 
He might have died, poor fool, like other 
men, 
Had not the healing art destroyed his 
life. 



23 



LOVE 

No man can love, and from his fellowmen 
The all-transforming passion hide ; 

It changes every feeling of the soul, 

Exalts his courage, and subdues his 
pride. 



THE AMERICAN CHAUFFEUR 

What cared the chauffeur that a dozen 
folk be killed? 
Our laws are still more dead than are 
the men he slew. 
The wheelless rabble crowd the busy thor- 
oughfare — 
There are too many men, we well can 
spare a few. 



24 



WAR 

Our far Ideal Is the distant peace, 

But the strife has too its sacred mission 
now; 
Behind the cruel sword we rightly dread, 
It is the mailed hand that drives the 
plow. 



HASTE MAKES WASTE '' 

" Great wits will jump ! " and so will nim- 
ble fleas. 
I pray you, Master Stern, remember 
this: 
The greatest wits take time, and never fail 
Of what the jumping fools are sure to 
miss. 



25 



SIXTY 

Sixty — how swift the flying years go by ! 
One scarce begins to live, when he must 

die; 
Yet I have lived, though I should live no 

more, 
And I have found life sweet from stem to 

core. 



THE DIVINE DOUBT 

Must I believe? Good friend, I doubt 
much more 
Than you have ever thought there was 
to doubt; 
And yet with equal joy and service I have 
lived 
Your forms of worship and your creed 
without. 



26 



AGNOSTICS 

How fade youth's golden dreams from 

view; 
Mid-lite invites the critic-crew, 
Who pierce our hoary fables through, 
Yet cannot tell us what is true. 



MEETING OF THE FREE-RELI- 
GIOUS ASSOCIATION 

A Free-Religious farce of warring creeds 
and men. 
Wherein the Heavenly Vision none be- 
hold I 
What boots it now which form of worship 
lives. 
Since Love is dead, and all her altars 
cold? 



27 



CHRISTIAN SCIENCE 

Nor science true, nor yet a Christian cult, 
But Mumbo- Jumbo In the brain; 

And a new Bible by our lady writ, 
With single eye to worldly gain. 



HOW TO ESCAPE DOUBT 

Would you your doubts escape ? 

^ Behold the path of weal ! 

Live less In what you think, 

And more in what you feel. 



28 



VALUE 

Better than fairest pebble is, 

In yonder brook you saw, 
The diamond that was scorned because 

It had an ugly flaw. 



TOO LATE 

God tricks no soul; none are deceived by 

fate; 
And when the moving finger writes, " Too 

late!" 
Upon the ruined walls of life, decay 
Makes plain the truth that hope had passed 

away. 



29 



CASTLES IN SPAIN 

Dear friend of other days no more, 
And friend of those that still remain, 

What boots our wealth of golden hours. 
If all our castles are in Spain? 



RECRUITS 

On every corner: "Wanted, young men 
to enlist I " 
Pictures of ships, and soldiers in their 
colors bright 
Entice the callow striplings, and away they 
march, 
For some unworthy king and worthless 
flag to fight. 



30 



EQUITY 

The other side of stern requital is reward, 

Together in one common soil they grow ; 

Their living roots take hold on justice, and 

behold! 

Who scorns the one must see the other 

go- 



LIFE AND DEATH 

Nor life nor death we understand, 
But one we love and one we fear ; 

Perhaps in other worlds than this. 
No great distinction will appear. 



31 



MEN FEAR THE TRUTH 

Men long to know the Truth, 
And yet the Truth they fear ; 

The heavenly prophets speak, 
And they refuse to hear. 



RIGHT BETTER THAN PEACE 

Fools cry for peace while cruel wrongs 

abound. 

And sing of love while hate survives ; 

The thousand years of peace we would not 

know, 

Till right and justice change our lives. 



32 



THE UNKNOWABLE 

We cannot know 

What we have wrought; 
Life far exceeds 

Our utmost thought. 



HERESY 

" Do you deny the devil? " asked the pious 
priest, 
" 'Tis whispered you no more believe in 
hell.'' 
" E'en so, good priest ! I now believe in 
God, 
And must be counted worse than infidel." 



33 



EARLY TRAINING 

Holy Religion, I thy word believe ; 

Yet why? I never studied aught to 
know. 
Ah, me I the truth to tell, it was because 

From infant's cradle I was started so. 



CHANCE 

*' None but the brave deserves the fair," 
Yet oft the coward wins the maid; 

IVe seen the hero travel far. 

And for his pains bring back a jade. 



34 



MATERIALISM 

A FAITH that grasps the outer shell 
But never seeks for hidden fruit, 

And to explain the soul of song 

Would weigh and measure pipe and lute. 



TRANSCENDENTALISM 

A DARK abyss where nothing is ; 

Adown whose silent spaces deep, 
From naught to naught, with wild delight, 

The modern saint and sibyl leap. 



35 



ASPIRATION 

As longs the star for night, 
The flower for the sun ; 

So longs my soul for Thee, 
O Holy One. 



THE EVENING OF THE LORD'S 
DAY 

And now to rest — the sacred day Is o'er ! 

O Soul, It was a blessed day of Grace, 
Made beautiful with holy love divine. 

And with the shining of thy SavIour^s 
face. 



36 



ASSURANCE 

How, when and where — of these I may 
not know, 
My times are in Thy hand ; 
Through calm and storm alike, my boat, 
unharmed. 
Draws near the heavenly land. 



BEYOND THE HARBOR-BAR 

Why weep, sweet heart? the night draws 
nigh. 

When tears and laughter all shall cease ; 
The hours use well that still remain. 

Beyond the harbor-bar lies peace. 



37 



THE UNIVERSAL MOTHER 

Death, kindly mother, gently rocks in love 

The coffin-cradles of the old; 
To sweet and dreamless slumber croons us 
all, 

When life's brief story has been told. 



TRUTH 

There danger dwells where dwells not 

Truth; 
Nor gold, nor gems, nor rosy youth 
Shall friendly be, when she hath fled; 
The soul that knows her not is dead. 



38 



HERE AND NOW 

"What is a ghost?" inquired a little 
child: 
I gently pressed its trembling hand, 
And softly whispered, " You behold a 
ghost. 
And this bright world is spirit-land." 



PASSION 

Who tastes not Passion's burning cup, 
The wine of knowledge never drains ; 

Like childhood's hours, his life is filled 
With infant's joys and infant's pains. 



39 



THE USELESSNESS OF WRAN- 
GLING 

Men may argue, discuss and contend 
About sects and parties and schools, 

But a touch of sweet love in the world 
Makes all the debaters seem fools. 



A SELFISH HEART 

How oft our trembling nerves we drug, 

Neglecting the disease; 
The trouble is a selfish heart, 

That loves its own sweet ease. 



40 



FRIENDSHIP 

Love burns the heart with ceaseless flame, 
But friendship, like the summer air. 

With scent of flowers from wood and field 
Breathes gentle fragrance everywhere. 



CHOICE 

No fate compels the soul of man 

To sorrow or rejoice ; 
There is no fate in earth or heaven 

But that of man's free choice. 



41 



LIFE 

Inwoven wreaths of mist 
From the sea, blown 

To islands far remote, 
And lands unknown. 



YOUTH AND AGE 

" Pleasure ! " cries Youth, " 'tis pleasure 
I demand; 

With eager lip the crystal cup I drain/* 
Sighs weary Age, *' I do remember well, 

And am content if quiet ease remain." 



42 



CHURCH AND STATE 

Behold the wedding of the Church and 
State ! 
And lo, the bitter bridal of despair 1 
The one doth justice barter to the priest, 
With gold the other chokes the mouth of 
Prayer. 



THE INNER WORSHIP 

By too much incense the idol is ob- 
scured, — 
The pomp of worship blinds our feebler 
sight; 
The heavenly vision waits not our com- 
mand, — 
The heart outweighs all holy word and 
rite. 



43 



WHY? 

Why should you die before you die? 

Cross bridges e'er you reach the stream? 
If life be as men say, a sleep, 

Sleep on, sweetheart, and dream your 
dream. 



"HOW DO CHERRIES TASTE?" 

How do cherries taste? 

I cannot tell ; 
But the children know. 

And birds as well. 



44 



THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH 

Dear cricket on my lonely hearth, 
The winter-snows are drifting now; 

Your quiet chirp through all the night 
Brings Autumn thoughts of bird and 
bough. 



YOUTH ATTRACTIVE 

On the lips of Experience 

Lives the larger truth; 
Yet sweeter sounds the callow voice 

Of shallow Youth. 



45 



A NEW ENGLAND HOUSEWIFE 

Through all her life 'twas dust and only 
dust her thought engaged; 
Some dust was real, but more her nim- 
ble mind supplied ; 
The poet's art she scorned, the painter's 
skill despised; 
For dust she lived, and dying, ** Dust to 
dust I " she cried. 



POPULAR ROMANCE 

From out our minds how swift the stories 
slip,— 
It matters not ! 
The worthless stuff men print, and fools 
devour. 
Is well forgot. 



46 



THE BEST CREED 

So many creeds my faith demands, 
I know not which to choose ; 

Perhaps the best is, after all 
The one I best can use. 



COMPOUNDING FOR SINS WE 
ARE INCLINED TO 

Without a scratch our modern sinners 
'scape, 
While pulpit wrestlers thrash the an- 
cient Jews; 
Loud roars the wicked world with laugh- 
ter wild. 
To see the ducats drop from wealthy 
pews. 



47 



DRIFT-WOOD 

Upon my hearth the drift-wood burns 
Rude waves have brought me from afar 

Across the sea my children went, — 
To-night I wonder where they are. 



PREACHING VERSUS PRACTICE 

" Briskly venture," wrote the poet, 

" Briskly roam "; 
Yet how well the German singer 

Loved his home. 



48 



THE HOUR 

Dost in God believe ? — 
What canst thou achieve? 
Hast thou the power ? 
Behold the hour I 



FINESSE 

Make all your words, good friend, and 
every deed 
To please the luckless scamp who shares 
your time ; 
Seem most to yield when most you have 
your way, 
And unperceived, by slow degrees still 
cHmb. 



49 



HATEFUL LOVE 

O, HATEFUL Love forever on the wing, 
I feel the fiery torment of thy sting ! 
Like cruel wasp, no mercy hast thou now, 
'Tis always sigh, or hope, or fear, or vow. 



PEACE AT LAST 

In pain my gentle mother gave me birth, 
And always Sorrow sat beside my hearth; 
E'er sinks the sun, and all my troubles 

cease. 
Turned sixty, grant me. Lord, a little 

peace. 



50 



DR. GIRTH 

Who rests beneath this stone concerns thee 

not; 
To be unknown was always his sad lot ; 
But if thou must his humble name unearth, 
Know this: it rhymes with what he lacked 

— sweet Mirth. 



TO A PLAGIARIST 

You stole my gold and I upbraided not, 
I gave you more to help you in your 
need; 
But when you stole my songs you stole my 
heart, 
And " Thief " I brand you for your 
shameless greed. 



51 



MODERN EDEN 

Our rights are many and our duties are but 
few: 
To live, be happy, and forever free ; 
These unforbidden fruits in Modern Eden 
grew — 
Three golden apples on a single tree. 



THE FOOL'S SUCCESS 

Wrote Pope: " Fools rush In where an- 
gels fear to tread." 
'TIs so. The stupid fools we load with 
scorn 
In life's great race ofttlmes come boldly out 
ahead, 
And blow with lusty throat their vulgar 
horn. 



52 



PROCRASTINATION 

Wisdom too late they learn, 
Who learn not now ; 

Vain is the search for fruit 
On winter bough. 



**YOU CANNOT MAKE A SILVER 
CUP FROM A PEWTER POT " 

On every street her silken garments trail, 
But her rude manners tell the tale of 
youth ; 
We strive to seem what we can never be, 
And while we lie, behold we tell the 
truth. 



53 



WINE 

In sun and shower the purple clusters 
grow, 
Their branches swing with ev'ry dancing 
breeze 
That softly whispers : " Song, and picture 
fair. 
And world-wide wisdom dwell in these." 



OPIUM 

Forbidden fruit ! Yet he who eats se- 
renely lives. 
And where he will his tranquil soul may, 
dreaming, dwell; 
Yet nevermore by light or gloom may he 
discern 
If he be safe in Paradise or locked in 
Hell. 



54 



TOBACCO 

The shadows fall, and evening brings re- 
pose, — 
From friendly pipe the fragrant clouds 
ascend; 
O sweet consoler of life's toil and grief. 
In thee at last all pain and sorrow end ! 



THE WRONG NAME 

How oft the Providence Divine 
For our mprovidence we blame ; 

*' 'TIs just my luck! " we rashly cry, 

Where " fault " or " slip " were better 
name. 



55 



EPITAPHS 
I 

Pluck now a flower for memory's sake, 

If e'er you knew the dead; 
White for the pure and stainless faith, 

For life's high noon the red. 



II 



The huntsman chased the luckless fawn 

Across the distant lea; 
So Death, forever swift of foot, 

Pursued and captured me. 



S6 



Ill 

Envious Death pursued my child, 
And tore him from my breast ; 

The bough remains, but on the earth 
Low lies the ruined nest. 



IV 

Death waited long for me; 

Now here I must remain, 
The friend of flower and weed. 

Bright sun and falling rain. 



57 



MODERN GREEKS 

Forever talking, talking, talking were the 
Greeks of old : 
" Winged words " of Homer, mystery 
of song. 
Still they speak with voice triumphant, 
never ceasing ; 
We are theirs, and ever they to us be- 
long. 



AT LAST 

We once imagined what we now believe, 
We now believe where knowledge waits 
for all ; 
Stepwise we rise : from what eternal height, 
Long years to come, shall man, trium- 
phant, fall! 



58 



THE CANDLE OF THE LORD 

If God will light His candle in my heart, 
The candle on the altar may depart; 
For in my breast, behold, that inner light 
Makes e'en the heavenly glory darker 
night. 



TOO MANY CHURCHES 

When Father Taylor saw ten churches in 

a row, 
** These are the devil's inns," he cried, 

" right well I know ! 
The peace of God one church might mean, 

but never ten ; 
For war these stand, and bitter hatred 

among men." 



59 



NATURAL FAITH 

Some men believe, 'tis true, because they 
must. 
They were not formed to question and 
deny ; 
I cannot think a trick of birth has made 
One man to live, another man to die. 



THE HOLY LAND 

Men deem the shores of Jordan holy land, 
But why more holy than their native 

strand? 
Are not all countries one to him who knows 
Alike in all the flower of mercy grows? 



6a 



SELF-CONCEIT 

Strong doubts of self the noblest minds 
distress, — 
Great Shakspeare may have thought 
himself a fool; 
But Tupper, if he ever thought at all, 
Believed the world to him should go to 
school. 



THE WALKING DELEGATE 

" My country, 'tis of thee ! " — so in the 
church they sing: 

" Sweet land of liberty! " — that means no 
rule of king : 

Take warning, sovereigns all, behold ap- 
proaching fate ! 

We have one master now — the Walking 
Delegate. 



6i 



POLITICIANS 

God send us politicians by the score, 

A hundred thousand bosses, if not more; 

Their self-effacing spirit and their love of 

truth 
Inspire new virtues in the heart of youth. 



THE NIHILIST 

What would the hater of all lands and 
men? 
Himself! himself! and but himself 
alone ! 
His cruel way to have, with one fell blow 
he'd wreck 
Both lowly cabin and the royal throne. 



62 



LEZE MAJESTY 

The Ten Commandments stand revised: 
" Take not the Kaiser's name in vain " — 

That awful name great England fears, 
France, Russia, and the mighty Spain. 



THE LAND OF LABOR-STRIKES 

** The Land of Freedom! " — 'tis a name 

the Sophomore likes, 
But truer name is this: "The Land of 

Labor-strikes I '* 
There is no reason Mike or Jake should 

work an hour; 
They came not here to work, but only to 

devour. 



63 



PROTECTION 

Ten thousand vast monopolies 
Stand trembling at the door : 

" We are such feeble folk," they cry, 
"Protect us, we implore." 



BONDAGE 

Vast time and space the human mind con- 
ceives. 
And then of both becomes the willing 
slave; 
A narrow world immures the living man — 
Perhaps he'll leave his bondage in the 
grave. 



64 



LIKE CURES LIKE 

The laughter of the world rings thin 
Upon the heart that knows Its grief ; 

Tears are less sad to one who mourns, 
And sorrow Is Its own relief. 



THE TRUE BROTHER 

Thy brother Is not thine by blood alone, 
But by the tender heart, and just, and 
true; 
Such dost thou know? To him cleave 
evermore, 
For brothers of the heart are far and 
few. 



65 



VAIN SEARCH 

Men search the world for Christ, 
And scale the heavens above ; 

Yet never in their hearts 

Discern His changeless love. 



TRUTH OR REPOSE 

We have one choice — 'tis truth or mean 

repose; 
The sacred flower of wisdom only grows 
Far up the rugged steep, and pathless 

height, 
While to repose the fragrant vales invite. 



66 



ONCE 

A SINGLE night she curled her hair, 
And dreamed of golden ringlets fair; 
But once — Ah ! that was why she failed, 
For never yet has *' once " availed. 



THE NEW AGE 

" Hitch thy wagon," wrote the sage, " un- 
to a star: " 

He lived before the age of the motor car. 

Now hitched our world is to the lightning's 
speed — 

Of sage and star alike we have scant need. 



67 



THE LARGER KNOWLEDGE 

Could I but find the secret 

In the heart of some poor weed, 

I'd win a larger knowledge 

Than is locked in your small creed. 



PROFANITY 

Why do we shudder at the ruffian's oath 

profane, 
When every day the miser takes God's 

name in vain? 
The one roars out his oath, the other acts 

his curse : 
I think the miser's imprecation is the 

worse. 



68 



" MY LIFE IS WIND '' 

Are then the dead not dead? 

Or have the living life? 
Man is like wind and tide, 

And all his days are strife. 



EVERYWHERE IS PEACE 

The weary day declines in cool, refreshing 

night. 
Along the hills the shadows deepen, fades 

the light 
From out the quiet blue, and all at length 

is still. 
It matters little: day and darkness work 

God's will. 



69 



TRANSLATIONS 



WOMAN'S SWORD 

The tongue is woman's sword, and to it 

she doth trust; 
By constant use she keeps it always free 

from rust; 
Deep in the heart of man she sheathes its 

glittering blade ; 
And lo! the mighty hero falls before the 

timid maid. 

From the French 



THE COST OF PROSECUTION 

The judge wants money, and the lawyer 

too, 
And when the long-protracted case is 

through, 
There'll not a franc be left, my friend, for 

you — 
A franc? — they'll leave you not a sou. 

From the French 



73 



ADIEU 

Adieu ! adieu, thou fair and cruel one ! 

'Tis done, thy scorn I little reck ! 
I haste me now lovers burning grief to 
quench — 
To hang ? — Yes, round another's neck. 
From the French 



THE UNEQUAL MARRIAGE 

Ah, poorly matched were e'en the heavenly 
pair; 
Celestial Psyche, spirit clear and free, 
New wisdom gained with every flying year, 
But laughing Amor, still a child was he. 

Goethe 



74 



THE SOLDIER'S SOLACE 

In truth no lack is here I do believe : 

The bread is white, the maidens dark as 

eve! 
Next night unto another town I go : 
Black is the bread, the maidens white as 

snow! 

Goethe 



EACH LIKES BEST THE PLACE 
WHEREIN HE LIVES 

So wisely hath the Lord God framed these 
human souls of ours, 
That each likes best the place where he 
doth dwell: 
Ask the lost spirits where Perdition Is, 
they'll say in Heaven ; 
Ask saints, they'll tell you 'tis in Hell. 

Goethe 



75 



TO A METAPHYSICIAN 

Over the azure sky 
Your cobwebs weave; 

I profit by my life, 
Nor stop to grieve. 

Goethe 



APPARENT DEATH 

Weep, maiden, o'er the lonely tomb of 
Love; 
He died of nothing who by chance was 
slain. 
But is he truly dead? — Ah, that I dare 
not say: 
A merest chance might give him life 
again. 

Goethe 



76 



ON DR. MEAD 

When Mead unto the lonely Styx was 
come, 
With trembling voice affrighted Pluto 
said: 
" Confound him I once the sightless and the 
dumb 
He saved, and now he would restore the 
dead I" 

Lessin^ 



THE EVENING HOUR 

All day the restless feet of eager men. 
The ceaseless strife for gain and place 
and power. 
And then the gentle darkness cool and still, 
The calm refreshment of the evening 
hour. 

From the German 



11 



SPIRITUAL EPIGRAMS. 



Ah, yes ! I would a Phoenix be, 
And burn my heart in Deity ! 
There should I dwell by His dear side, 
And in the self of God abide. 



II 



I DO believe there is no death ; 

Though every hour I die, 
Yet every hour, with new delight, 

A better life draws nigh. 



78 



Ill 

I HOLD that since by death alone 
God bids my soul go free, 

In death a richer blessing is 
Than all the world to me. 



IV 



The cross of Golgotha can never save 

Thy soul from deeper hell, 
Unless with loving faith thou sett'st it up 

Within thy heart as well. 

Angelus Silesius 



79 



BALAAM'S ASS 

Balaam's ass beheld the shining angel 
stand 
With flaming sword his path before; 
The prophet, blinded by his sinful heart, 
Saw but the ass and nothing more. 

Latin of the Fifteenth Century 



ON A FLY ENGRAVED IN A 
GOLDEN DRINKING-CUP 

In golden cup of sparkling wine 
I drew my latest breath : 

How could I seek a nobler tomb. 
Or crave a sweeter death ? 

Cunradinus 



82 



EPIGRAMS FROM MARTIAL 

I 

TO AVITUS 

Of all these epigrams a few are good, 
And some are fair, and others bad ; 

No other way, my dear Avitus, could 
So large a book as this be had. 



II 

AN INSECT IN AMBER 

Upon an unsuspecting ant a drop of amber 
fell, 
When lo ! the insect we so oft despise 
Is changed, as by a sudden stroke of light, 
into a gem 
We more than gold of Ophir seek and 
prize. 



83 



Ill 

ON FABULLUS 

Sweet the fragrance — much it pleased 
me, 

But I nothing had to eat; 
He Is like a corpse, anointed, 

Who hath perfume for his meat. 



IV 

TO AFRICANUS 

In gold and silver Afrlcanus rolls, 

And seeks for more from rise to set of 
sun: 
To some great Fortune gives too much; 
alas ! 
That wayward goddess gives enough to 
none. 



84 



V 

IMPROMPTU VERSES 

Oh, why, my Stella, so severe a task? 
Impromptu verses at the feast you ask: 
But since you thus insist I must comply, 
And if they're poor you know the reason 
why. 

VI 

ON QUINTUS 

QuiNTUS loves Thais — what 1 — that 
squint-eyed, one-eyed girl? 
By mighty Jove, the fellow's far more 
blind than she I 
For Thais wants one eye, but Quintus — 
he wants two : 
His foolish love for Thais proves he can- 
not see. 



85 



VII 
THE COOK 

'Tis not enough to have the art 

Savory dishes to prepare; 
The cook must know his master's heart, 

His ev'ry wish and taste must share. 



SOCRATES 

Great Socrates, the wisest and the best of 
men. 
Was not ashamed that Alcibiades of old 
Should find him with the children, and 
astride a stick. 
Or wild with noisy sport as in the dust 
he rolled. 

Latin Anthology 



86 



GREEK EPIGRAM 

If It were true, as some have boldly said, 
That in the grave the wise and mighty 

dead 
Have sense and knowledge sacred things 

to seize, 
I'd hang myself to see Euripides. 



ARISTOPHANES 

The Graces sought a sacred shrine. 
For songs of love and peace ; 

And lo ! they found it in the soul 
Of Aristophanes. 

Greek Anthology 



87 



THE DEADLY PRESENCE 

No fatal herb to Aristagoras did Agis give, 
He merely entered and his host was 
dead. 
Ye coffin-makers, pelt this living aconite 
with flowers ; 
With rosy chaplets crown his mighty 
head. 

Hedylus 



THE GIFT OF THE MUSES 

With old Herodotus one day the Muses 

came to dine; 
And when they left th' historian's board all 

gay with sparkling wine, 
They gave him — 'twas a priceless gift 

from the immortal Nine — 
The peerless books that evermore his name 

with theirs enshrine. 

From the Greek 



88 



MORTALITY 

Thou art a mortal man by human frailty 
girt, 
Tis this the sum of wise philosophy to 
learn ; 
To-day thou rul'st a mighty empire with 
thy frown, — 
To-morrow, crownless, shalt thou fill the 

funeral urn. 

Menander 



EQUALITY IN THE GRAVE 

Manes when living was a humble slave, 
But Death hath crown'd his brow; 

And in the grave, great king Darius, know 
That slave's as great as thou. 

Anyte of Tegea 



89 



CURES FOR LOVE 

Sharp pangs of hunger may lovers raging 
fever cure, 
Or years of absence passion's fury alter ; 
But if the flame burn on thou canst no 
more endure, 
Why, friend, I do advise thee buy a 
halter. 

Crates of Thebes 



ON THOSE WHO FELL AT 
THERMOPYL^ 

Great glory thus it is to bravely die 
Upon thy holy field, Thermopylae : 
Above our dust an altar rear divine. 
Since sacred Greece and liberty are thine. 

Greek Epitaph 



90 



SECRECY 

Thy friend hath still another friend, 

And he a friend as well; 
Be silent, lest to all the world 

Their lips the secret tell. 

From the Hebrew 



GAIN STRENGTH BY HELPING 
OTHERS 

Distress not with thy troubles other 
souls. 
Since life hath thorns enough for all; 
With kind and tender heart and helpful 
hand, 
Gain strength by lifting those who fall. 

Saadi 



91 



INTOXICATION 

Whom the ruby wine doth intoxicate, 
Shall sober when the fumes are blown 
away ; 
But whom the cupbearer doth intoxicate, 
Shall sober not until judgment-day. 

Saadi 



THE SAINT'S REPLY 

Unto a saint a mighty monarch said : 
" How often dost thou think of me? " 

The holy man made answer thus: "O 
king, 
When I forget the Lord I think of 



thee." 



Saadi 



92 



THE UNITY OF FAITH 

KiNE are of divers colors, but they all milk 

the same; 
Altar flowers are not alike, but worship is 

one flame; 
Systems of faith may differ with every 

changing zone; 
But God, unchanging ever, remaineth God 

alone. 

Vemana 



ENVY PURSUES THE FRUITFUL 

Rejoice, O my soul, and be glad. 
When Envy speaks evil of thee! 

Sticks, and stones, and clods of the field 
Are cast at the fruit-bearing tree. 

From the Persian 



93 



THE PRESENT HEAVEN 

Look not beyond the stars for Heaven, 
Nor 'neath the sea for Hell ; 

Know thou who leads a useful life 
In Paradise doth dwell. 

Hafiz 



WHAT NEED OF SACRED HOUSE? 

All forms of faith one holy object have; 
All men the Loved One seek with con- 
stant care ; 
And since the world is Love's fair dwell- 
ing-place, 
Why talk of mosque or sacred house of 



prayer ? 



Hafiz 



94 



THE DIVINE DEMAND 

God will not seek thy race, 
Nor will He ask thy birth ; 

Alone He will demand of thee, 

" What hast thou done on earth? " 
From the Persian 



MUCH IN LITTLE 

In the eye of a gnat an elephant sleeps, 
Thousands of harvests the corn-kernel 

keeps, 
A dewdrop the banished Euphrates doth 

hold. 
And a mustard-seed doth the Almighty 

enfold. 

From the Persian 



95 



THE APPOINTED HOUR 

No child of man may perish e'er his time 

arrives, 
A thousand arrows pierce him, and he still 

survives ; 
But when the moment fixed in Heaven's 

eternal will 
Comes round, a single blade of yielding 

grass may kill. 

From the Mahahharata 



THE WORDS OF THE WISE 
ARE FEW 

Of all the lands where mighty forests 

grow. 
But few that bear the sandalwood I know ; 
In every clime the wise and good I view, 
And yet, alas ! their golden words are few. 

Saskya Pandit a 



96 



HOW TO BECOME A SAINT 

In every human heart a herd of swine, 
With hoof unclean and vile and greedy 
snout, 
Trample upon God's fragrant flowers di- 
vine: 
Wouldst be a saint? Then drive the 
creatures out. 

From the Sanscrit 



THE BRAHMIN'S DELIGHT 

Two things the noble Brahmin's heart de- 
light: 
A friend whose love is always warm and 
true, 
And holy songs from sacred volumes 
learned; 
He lives contented who may claim the 
two* 

From the Sanscrit 



97 



THE RIGHT ROAD 

Follow Moses and Amram, and press on 
In this road 
Until you hear the solemn words, '' I am 
Deity!" 
So long as the mount of being remains be- 
fore you, 
The answer to '' Show me " Is, " Thou 
shalt not behold Me." 

Mahomet in the Gidshan-i-Raz 



STOLEN GLANCES 

Thou mean and sour-faced eunuch, listen 

well, 
And every word I breathe, unto thy master 

tell! 
But thou canst not the secret meaning spy, 
That lingers In the sweeter language of the 

eye. 

Beha-ed-din Zohein 



98 



PILGRIMAGE 

To lighten my sins to Mecca I went, 
And thought at the mosque my guilt to 

repent ; 
From Caaba the holy and Zem-Zem I came, 
And my burden of guilt was exactly the 

same. 

From the Arabic 



FERTILE OF RESOURCES 

A FOOT of water In the tank, 
Yet In he plunged and down he sank; 
The water came not to his knees. 
And yet he swam about with ease. 

From the Arabic 



99 



TRUE GENEROSITY 

He only is generous 

Whose gift, 
By willing hand proffered, 

Is swift. 

From the Arabic 



THE UNHALLOWED DEAD 

If the winding-sheet be ragged and old, 
The corpse-washer be one-eyed and 
mean. 
The bier be broken, and the burial-ground 
salt, 
The dead belongeth in hell I ween. 

From the Arabic 



lOO 



THE TRUE COUNSELLOR 

He alone can counsel give 

Of all his tribe, 
Whom death cannot affright, 

Nor treasure bribe. 

From the Arabic 



lOI 



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